Tax take up in top economies, says OECD

Tax revenues in the world's top economies rose last year to the highest levels since the global downturn in 2008-2009, the OECD said today, suggesting a gradual recovery.
The average tax revenue-to-output ratio in the 30 leading economies measured by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development was 34.6 per cent in 2012, compared to 34.1 per cent and 33.8 per cent in the two years before that.
Tax revenues tend to rise in times of economic recovery as businesses expand, paying more corporate taxes and wages improve, meaning consumers pay more tax to the government.
The tax take ratio rose in 21 of the 30 countries surveyed.

The largest increases occurred in Hungary, Greece, Italy and New Zealand, the OECD said.
The highest "fiscal pressure" among OECD countries was in Denmark where the tax-to-GDP ratio stood at 48 per cent in 2012.